PressClub Latin America, Caribbean · Article.

Wed Sep 28 23:02:22 CEST 2016 Press Release

The Board of Management of BMW AG has decided to strategically realign its automobile racing activities. In doing so, the company is setting course for a future BMW Group motorsport programme that is as extensive as it is diversified. The commitments contribute to BMW M, BMW i and MINI. The threads for the development of the cars and their race outings will henceforth come together in BMW Group Motorsport.

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The Board of Management of BMW AG has decided to strategically
realign its automobile racing activities. In doing so, the company
is setting course for a future BMW Group motorsport programme that
is as extensive as it is diversified. The commitments contribute to
BMW M, BMW i and MINI. The threads for the development of the cars
and their race outings will henceforth come together in BMW Group Motorsport.

This realignment, which comes seven years after the withdrawal from
Formula One and four years after returning to the DTM, once again
ensures that the BMW Group addresses important topics in the
ever-changing world of motorsport, is even more broadly positioned,
and can thus address different target groups around the world.
Classic motor racing and sustainability both play key roles, in
order to inspire fans of sporty driving at racetracks all over the
planet. The strong pillars of the programme for the coming years
will be the DTM, the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC), the cooperation with
Andretti Formula E in the FIA Formula E Championship, the customer
racing programme in the GT3 and GT4 categories, the promotion of
talented young drivers, and the extremely challenging Dakar Rally.

The focus on production-based motor racing, which was decided upon
in 2009, will be further intensified. The commitments in the DTM and
the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship continue, and it is also
planned to race in the WEC with a new GT car. The BMW M4 GT4 will
join the range of models in the customer racing portfolio. BMW will
also work closely with US racing legend Michael Andretti’s (US) team
in the FIA Formula E Championship – the world’s leading racing
series for electric cars. As cooperation partner of Andretti Formula
E, BMW Motorsport will cooperate closely with the team, in order to
familiarise itself with processes in this innovative series, and to
check the possibility of a works involvement in the future. At the
same time, BMW i remains the “Official Vehicle Partner” of Formula
E. Ever since the inaugural season of the series in 2014/15, the BMW
i8 Safety Car has taken to the track in Formula E as a
high-performance and efficient lead car. Furthermore, MINI’s
successful cooperation with Sven Quandt’s X-raid team at the Dakar
Rally will also continue.

Klaus Fröhlich, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG,
Development, said: “The strategic realignment of the motorsport
activities is a strong commitment to motorsport on the part of our
company. It will remain a cornerstone within the BMW Group in the
future. Everyone knows that BMW and motorsport are intrinsically
linked. The commitments allow us to demonstrate our expertise in the
areas of technology and integration on international platforms,
including the world’s leading racing series for electric mobility
and classic motorsport. Electric mobility will continue to grow in
importance. In the last ten years, we have established a leading
position in the automobile industry in this field with BMW i.
Through our partnership with Andretti Formula E in the Formula E
Championship, we will now additionally see a close interaction
between motor racing and production development in our company, from
which both departments will benefit. On the production-based racing
scene, we will be represented with BMW M in the global WEC series in
the future, as well as the DTM and the IWSC. Our commitments
complement each other perfectly: we are going head to head with our
most important global competitors, whether through our works
commitments or customer racing. In short: The future strategy is
excellently suited to the BMW Group. Bring on the future.”

BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt also sees the bundling of
all automobile racing activities as an extremely positive
development, and said: “It is fantastic that the BMW Group will be
even more broadly positioned and represented in all relevant areas
in the future. We will continue to focus on Europe in the DTM, and
are looking forward to continuing the extremely close competition
with the other premium manufacturers over the coming years. Other
relevant international platforms will also be incorporated in the
new strategy: the commitment in Formula E sees us forge new paths
and demonstrate our expertise in the field of electric mobility.
Over the coming years, the cooperation with Andretti Formula E will
primarily focus on familiarising ourselves with the procedures and
processes, and on intensifying our knowledge. Our works driver
António Félix da Costa will be in action behind the wheel. A works
involvement is then conceivable as of the series’ fifth season. The
premise for all these steps is the further positive development of
the series, which includes increasing the capacity of the batteries,
for example.”

Marquardt continued: “Starting with the 2018 season, we want to
further expand our activities in GT racing and compete in the FIA
World Endurance Championship, as well as the IMSA WeatherTech
SportsCar Championship. This obviously also includes our return to
Le Mans, which we are particularly looking forward to. The way the
WEC has developed so well makes us confident that there is a big
future for GT racing. This is also the motivation behind our further
expansion in the customer racing sector. Our range is already
spearheaded by a successful representative, in the form of the BMW
M6 GT3. As of 2018, we will also be excellently represented by the
BMW M4 GT4 in the GT4 class, which is currently experiencing
something of a boom. It goes without saying that we will also
continue our successful junior programme, in which we prepare
talented youngsters in GT and touring car racing for the bigger
challenges ahead. At the same time, we will also be ramping up our
support of MINI’s Dakar Rally project in the future. All in all, the
BMW Group’s motorsport programme is virtually unique in terms of its
scope and diversity.”

Hildegard Wortmann, Senior Vice President Brand BMW, said: “The new
motor racing strategy is particularly characterised by a strong
‘brand fit’. The different commitments ideally contribute to the
attributes that fans and customers connect with the respective
brand. We will extend the existing target groups and will – for
instance – become even more visible for urban and young customers,
as with our Formula E commitment. Overall we are very well
positioned with this strategy in motorsport and are represented on
the most important markets worldwide. BMW and motorsport – they
belong together. This combination has always shaped the brand.”

An overview of the BMW Group Motorsport programme.

DTM: BMW will continue its comprehensive commitment
in the DTM over the coming years. As arguably the best and most
popular touring car series in the world, the DTM provides the
perfect stage, on which to offer fans exciting racing of the highest
possible quality. The DTM will remain an important platform in the
future, particularly for BMW Germany. BMW will play an active role
in ensuring that the positive marketing developments seen this year
will continue in the future.

FIA World Endurance Championship: The plan is for
BMW to enter the FIA World Endurance Championship in the 2018
season. The highlight of this championship is the 24-hour race in Le
Mans (FR). BMW claimed overall victory there in 1999 with the open
prototype BMW V12 LMR. The last time a BMW took its place on the
grid at the endurance classic near the river Sarthe was in 2011:
back then, the BMW M3 GT finished third in the LM GTE class. Since
it was launched in 2012, the championship has enjoyed a positive
development, forged new paths in many regards, and won a lot of
fans. Further details, such as the model of car to be used and the
team responsible for the car, will be confirmed and announced over
the coming months.

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: The series combines fantastic cars, iconic
racetracks, top-class drivers and passionate fans. In doing so, it
continues a long tradition of sports car racing in the USA and
Canada, in which BMW has always played a major role. In 1975,
shortly after BMW of North America was founded, the legendary BMW
3.0 CSL won the 12 Hours of Sebring. 2015 marked the 40th
anniversary of this success. BMW Motorsport and BMW Team RLL are in
their eighth season together this year. Team principal Bobby Rahal’s
outfit first entered the series – still known as the American Le
Mans Series at the time – in 2009. Over the following years, the
team won many races and celebrated five titles in the GT class.

FIA Formula E Championship: The cooperation with
Andretti Formula E is initially set to run for two seasons. It
incorporates, for example, cooperation at engineer level and the
mutual use of resources. Depending on the general development of the
racing series, a works involvement is envisaged as of the series’
season 5, 2018/2019, provided the conditions and circumstances are
right. As part of this commitment, BMW Motorsport will provide its
works driver António Félix da Costa (PT) as a driver for Andretti
Formula E. The Portuguese, who has featured on the top step of the
DTM podium with BMW and has already tasted victory in Formula E,
will contest the entire 2016/17 FIA Formula E Championship. As well
as the new partnership, BMW i will remain the “Official Vehicle
Partner” of Formula E. This partnership allows BMW i to present the
plug-in hybrid BMW i8, as the Safety Car, and the fully-electric BMW
i3, as the Medical Car, in some of the largest cities in the world.

BMW Customer Racing: A comprehensive offering for
privateer teams and drivers from all over the world, to allow them
to compete successfully in motorsport with BMW cars, enjoys a long
tradition and will continue to play an important role in BMW Group
Motorsport in the future. The range of products is spearheaded by
the BMW M6 GT3, which made its race debut in 2016 and was soon
winning races. As of 2018, the range will also include another
model, in the form of the BMW M4 GT4. Built on the ideal basis
provided by the BMW M4 Coupé, this car is the reaction to the
positive development of the GT4 sector. Test outings at races are
planned for this year, in order to ensure that customers receive a
perfect car that has been tested in all conceivable situations.
Possible innovations in entry-level motor racing, which is currently
catered for by the BMW M235i Racing, are being evaluated.

BMW Motorsport Junior programme: The promotion of
promising young drivers dates back to the 1970s at BMW Motorsport.
During this time, this philosophy has produced many winners and
champions in various motorsport disciplines. The BMW Motorsport
Junior programme, a multi-level junior concept with a focus on GT
and touring car racing, was launched in 2014 and has been expanded
consistently since then. This programme will also continue to run in
the coming years.

Dakar Rally: The proven cooperation with the X-raid
team and its team principal Sven Quandt, which yielded four wins at
the Dakar Rally for the MINI brand between 2012 and 2015, will
continue. The X-raid team will begin its campaign for Dakar win
number five with a MINI John Cooper Works at the start of 2017.

CO2 emission information.

Fuel consumption figures based on the EU test cycle, may vary depending on the tyre format specified. Further information on official fuel consumption figures, specific CO2 emission values and the electric power consumption of new passenger cars is included in the “Guideline for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and electric power consumption of new passenger cars", which can be obtained from dealerships and here as PDF.

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Fuel consumption figures based on the EU test cycle, may vary depending on the tyre format specified. Further information on official fuel consumption figures, specific CO2 emission values and the electric power consumption of new passenger cars is included in the “Guideline for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and electric power consumption of new passenger cars", which can be obtained from dealerships and here as PDF.